Kopeck - Peter I

Peter I introduced the silver kopeck in 1704 as part of his sweeping monetary reform — the same overhaul that created the ruble as a decimalized unit and effectively dismantled the old wire-money system that had persisted since the medieval period. The tiny wire-cut "fish scale" kopecks these replaced had been produced by hand-hammering silver wire for centuries, and replacing them with machine-struck coinage was as much a political statement about modernization as it was a practical monetary decision.

Production was short-lived. By 1718, copper had taken over the kopeck denomination entirely, making the silver issue a transitional artifact of only fourteen years.